On 10 November, gamers around the world will be enthusiastically celebrating the release of the fourth generation of Xbox consoles. If you’re an avid fan of Microsoft’s next-generation consoles and want to know all about the newest release, don’t go anywhere.
What Are the New Consoles?
There are two brand new exceptionally powerful consoles being released simultaneously: Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The former is the most expensive and powerful model, while the latter has a cheaper price tag and has less processing power, memory and internal storage; it’s also smaller, lighter and doesn’t come with an optical drive. The X console supports Ultra HD Blue-ray, Blu-ray, CD, DVD and digital distribution, while the S console only supports digital distribution.
The X is being touted as the fastest, most powerful Xbox console ever and is specially designed to give players the ultimate experience. It offers high-definition graphics, fast loading times, prioritised hardware performance and an array of impressive technical aspects that people are sure to appreciate. The S isn’t as technically advanced, but it’s still a highly developed, sophisticated gaming console in its own right. Whichever one you go for, you’re bound to be very impressed.
How Much Will They Cost?
The standard price for the Xbox Series X has been confirmed as $499 / €499 / £449 / AU$749. If it’s the cheaper Xbox Series S you’re after, this will set you back $299 / €299 / £249 / AU$499. There will no doubt be all sorts of special deals and bundles with particular games that will be promoted both in the urn-up to the consoles’ release and in the months afterwards.
In 2018, Microsoft introduced the Xbox All-Access, a payment program that lets people in the US pay for an Xbox One S or X console along with subscriptions to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass over two years. Those who opt in to this sign a two-year contract and once the two years have expired, the customer owns the console outright. It’s been announced that all Xbox All-Access plans will continue and that current users will be able to upgrade to the new consoles. A two-year contract for Xbox Series X will cost $35 per month, while for Xbox Series S the monthly cost will be $25.
Games and Backwards Compatibility
Some of the many games that have been announced for the new consoles include Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War, As Dusk Falls, Tetris Effect: Connected, Scorn, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, FIFA 21, Everwild, Hogwarts Legacy, Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Around 20 titles have been confirmed as being available on 10 November, with many more to come over the following weeks and months. One of the most eagerly anticipated games, Halo Infinite, was meant to be available on 10 November, but its release has been put back to 2021 because of ongoing complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, both consoles will have 31 games available to play at launch.
As for backwards compatibility, the two consoles will be capable of supporting all Xbox One games, except those that require a Kinect sensor to be played. This includes all of the original Xbox and Xbox 360 games that can be played on Xbox One through backwards compatibility. In other words, Xbox Series X and S will both be capable of running four consoles’ worth of games.
Release
There were concerns that the scheduled release date of 10 November wouldn’t be able to be met because of the ongoing pandemic. However, Microsoft confirmed in March that the consoles will more than likely still be released on time, though certain games (such as Halo Infinite) have had their release dates pushed back.
